I know about drinking water instead of eating when you feel hungry, and I definately do fall for the "eating because I'm bored" thing. I aslo want to eat when I'm tired, sad, or cold (especailly when I'm tired, though, which is every day!) I get enough food, but still WANT more, even though I feel full. Even though I'm not actually hungry, I want to eat more food.

I try chewing gum, playing with my pet poultry and kitty, drinking water, etc. but I still want it. Any ideas?

Check to find out if what you are eating is meeting your recommended daily nutritional requirements. You may be lacking in one area and that may be what is causing your feelings of hunger.

Ha! Now, THAT is an idea! I honestly never thought about that, and that makes me feel STUPID!!! Low nutrients would have been THE first thing I'd have checked had it been one of my animals trying to eat everything they didn't need!!! Wow!

Thanks.

Hmmm... does this site have a page to tell me the nutritional requirements?

Eating too much carb-rich (especially sugar/processed) can throw your hungry/not hungry signalling all out of whack, you might do some resarch there and rebalance your diet to see if it helps.

Drinking water definitely helps a lot. If you do feel like you have to snack, try broccoli or spinach, you can keep yourself occupied and only add minimal calories (but some vitamins and fiber at least) to your diet, and they're quite filling.

Last edited by theLiftingYeti; 02-17-2011 at 08:52 PM.
Reason: clarity

The overview tab will let you know your nutritional balance. The hunger may improve as you get used to eating less. Are you eating enough calories? I find i need 1500 to deal with hunger. exercise does not usually cause me to eat more so i'm trying to burn extra.

A certain amount of protein and fat help as well.

Keeping busy helps. Planning your meals and having healthy food on hand so you don't grab the wrong thing when you are tired and hungry works too. Good luck.

I get enough food, but still WANT more, even though I feel full. Even though I'm not actually hungry, I want to eat more food.

For me that's a clear sign that my blood glucose levels have been bouncing around - too high, then too low. I keep it under control by avoiding anything I know will dump an excessive amount of sugar into my system in a relatively short time. In a nutshell, that means I'm on a low glycemic index diet.

That means no added sugar, no white rice, no potatoes, and nothing made from white flour. I do eat a serving of complex carbs with just about every meal - usually whole grain bread or pasta, sweet potatoes, brown rice, or oatmeal - but I'm careful to stay within the recommended portion size. I also eat an unlimited amount of non-starchy vegetables and one or two servings of fruit a day. The low carb veggies work against hunger because of their fiber content and low energy density and have so few calories that I don't see any point in limiting portion sizes. I do watch what I put on them, though. Bananas are the only fruit I've encountered thus far that consistently trigger feelings of hunger after moderate consumption.

Take care with the gum, dont rely on it too often. When you chew gum, the stomach thinks that you are eating and starts producing acids to digest the food. No food to digest ... the acid affect your internal organs.